Champion, please stay!

Chapter 241, page 239: Just one word—rob!

After the sneaker endorsement event ended at noon, Yi Shui went to the restaurant that Curry had chosen.

After the game against the Mavericks, it was straight to the All-Star Weekend holiday, and the whole team stayed at a vacation villa in the suburbs of Arlington that Dolan had booked.

At the restaurant, teammates including Danny Green and Travis Dinar, who had been relegated to the Development League, came to see Harrington off.

When Yi Shui first entered the NBA, Harrington only hung out with Marquese Daniels and didn't get along well with most of his teammates.

The two players, who were involved in organized crime, often bossed around the rookies Curry and Chalmers. However, Harrington's personality wasn't too bad; he mostly used them as wingmen to show off his status as a veteran star. He didn't go as far as Ben Gordon did with Eric Gordon.

After the All-Star Weekend last season, Daniels was traded, and Harrington chose to actively integrate into the circle of the three rookies from the 08 draft class, proactively pairing up with Yi Shui and developing better relationships with veteran big men like Swift and Birdman...

Yi Shui and Curry originally planned to hold a farewell banquet tomorrow so that everyone could eat and drink well. However, when Curry talked to Harrington about it, Harrington said that he would go directly to Charlotte tomorrow morning.

After sitting down and clinking glasses with everyone, Yi Shui asked Harrington why he was in such a hurry to go to Charlotte.

Harrington responded, "I met with Jordan the day before yesterday, and he promised that I would become the core of the frontcourt tactics. I want to get there as soon as possible to communicate with the new coach and new teammates and try to integrate into the tactical system as soon as possible."

Two days ago, Yi Shui learned from Walsh that management had informed Harrington at the start of the All-Star break that they might use him as a trade asset.

With negotiations with the Bobcats nearly complete, it's perfectly normal for the team to allow Harrington to contact his new club ahead of time.

Seeing that Harrington was eager to join the Bobcats, Yi Shui breathed a sigh of relief, but was also curious: "Al, aren't you worried that you won't adapt well to a defensive coach like Larry Brown?"

Harrington: "A coach who only knows defense is perfect for me. As long as I don't drag my team down on defense, he won't interfere with my offensive choices. Look at Diaw, he can be the tactical core of the Bobcats. I can definitely do better than him!"

On the contrary, playing under Mike, I was never really comfortable..."

Yi Shui discovered his cognitive biases.

He previously thought that defensive coaches didn't like offensive players, but after listening to Harrington, he realized that the reality might be the exact opposite of what he thought.

Defensive coaches may prefer players with the ability to create their own offense.

Larry Brown gave Iverson, Billups, and Hamilton unlimited freedom on offense;
Popovich placed no restrictions on Ginobili's actions on the court and gave him unlimited trust...

On the contrary, coaches known for their offensive systems seem to dislike players who are unpredictable or erratic.

He thought of Phil Jackson and Adelman, neither of whom had players with that kind of unpredictable style. If he had to say they did... Jordan, Kobe, Bibby?
When the two coaches were leading their teams in the championship-contending stage, almost all of their key players were well-defined, modular players.

Then there's George Karl, who, while heavily relying on Billups' court control in his tactical system, always leaves crucial moments for Billups, JR Smith, Anthony, and others to solve problems through their individual abilities.

However, Yi Shui often saw news about George Karl having conflicts with the three. There were rumors that George Karl was extremely disgusted and even hated the three's irrational shooting choices on offense.

During Iverson's nearly two seasons with the Nuggets, there were frequent rumors of conflicts with George Karl.

Yi Shui reflected on the past season and a half he had played with Harrington. D'Antoni had almost always limited Harrington's offensive options, and every time Harrington was brought on, it was for a specific task.

The same was true for Diaw back then. Only when Stoudemire was out for the season did D'Antoni take the time to utilize Diaw's playmaking ability in the frontcourt. After Stoudemire recovered from his injury, Diaw's role became more singular.

D'Antoni is relatively better off; when using Diaw and Harrington, he can at least find multiple roles for them in different tactics and provide them with enough playing time.

After Gentry became the Suns' head coach, he immediately marginalized Diaw.

On the contrary, Diaw played better under Larry Brown than under D'Antoni, enjoying a high degree of autonomy on the court and averaging 15+5+5 per game.

...

After lunch, Yi Shui bid farewell to Harrington, and from then on, whenever they were on the same pitch, they would be opponents.

He, along with Curry and David Lee, went to Cowboys Arena to join the All-Star team. At 1:30 p.m., they were to visit a Catholic church to meet with a local disabled people's band, listen to their performance, give them gifts, take photos, and so on.

The star of this visit... is King again. James is perfect for this kind of event.

Yi Shui couldn't learn this. After doing what he was supposed to do, he sat down with Curry and chatted about the second half of the season.

Curry: "Big, you're going to have to work even harder from now on. With Al gone, only you can fill many of his tactical roles."

Yi Shui: "Don't worry, leave it to me. I'm mentally prepared."

Harrington deserves much credit for their outstanding performance this season.

Other interior players like Swift, Birdman, Gibson, and Ben Wallace have very limited roles. Even David Lee's role isn't particularly diverse; he's only better at one-on-one play in half-court sets than the others.

Harrington was different; nicknamed the "jack-of-all-trades," he could do anything and take on different tasks in different tactics.

The day before yesterday, when we met with the management, we initially thought that the team was offering David Lee as a bargaining chip when we heard that the target for the transfer was Chandler.

He was very surprised when he heard that Harrington was to be used as a bargaining chip!
During a conversation with Walsh, it was learned that the team did initially inquire about David Lee, but the Bobcats rejected the offer outright.

Not only did the Bobcats refuse, but Walsh also inquired with the Pistons about trading David Lee for Hamilton, which was also rejected.

Yi Shui believed that David Lee's ability, combined with his contract with a team option, would make him a hot commodity in the trade market, and Walsh initially thought so too.

However, in reality, David Lee is in high demand but unavailable.

Other teams recognize David Lee's talent, but are unwilling to give up any assets for him.

As an inside player, his defense is too poor, his spacing is also average, he doesn't have the shooting range of players like Garnett, Bosh, and Boozer, and he can't be compared to players like Lewis and Radmanovic. This makes teams that really aim to win the championship have no interest in David Lee.

Teams rebuilding or simply aiming to make the playoffs are quite interested in David Lee.

But the Knicks' moves over the past two years have been very clear – they've been preparing for this summer's free agency market.

Moreover, their current goal can only be the championship, and David Lee is clearly not part of their future plans, so they cannot exercise David Lee's team option.

Other teams that want David Lee can wait until they decline their team options and David Lee becomes a free agent before making an offer. Even if David Lee wants to retain his Bird rights, they can only offer a late first-round pick or one or two second-round picks as compensation. There is no need to give up valuable assets now.

On the contrary, players like Chalmers, Duhon, Webster, and Birdman are highly sought after in the trade market, and Walsh has received offers for them since January.

Teams like the Lakers are very interested in Duhon, while the Mavericks want Birdman and Webster.

Even for championship contenders, acquiring these role players who have proven themselves under D'Antoni can immediately boost the strength of their rotation.

However, Yi Shui felt that the deal with Chandler was a 'loss'.

He did talk to D'Antoni about whether Chandler was a good fit for them, but he wasn't thinking about the present; he was thinking about the offseason.

He recalled that in the summer of 10, the Mavericks acquired Chandler in exchange for Dampier's expiring contract.

The Knicks will have a huge amount of cap space, so they can offer a low-salary player or draft pick and use that cap space to their advantage. Jordan, that stingy guy, will definitely pick them.

But plans can't keep up with changes, and they now have to improve their rim protection at the center position in order to be more competitive in the playoffs.

Otherwise, they could be in serious trouble if they face a Celtics team where Garnett's form is improving, a Magic team with Howard, or a Pacers team with the 'strongest frontcourt in the East' in the playoffs.

Fortunately, those two first-round picks aren't too valuable, and he's confident he can keep them at the very end of the first round.

...

At 3 p.m., Yi Shui returned to Cowboy Stadium with the All-Star team to prepare for the evening's game.

Before training began, James once again suggested helping Wade compete for the MVP award.

When Yi Shui saw that Pierce was the only remaining player among the older players, he decisively stepped forward to compete.

Pierce was the first to support Yi Shui.

If no one had objected, he could have simply ignored James. After all, James usually only plays for a little over ten minutes in the All-Star game. His three-threat style of play, like Yao Ming's low-post scoring, is not suited to this stage.

But some people stand against James. Pierce decisively supports the other side. He dislikes Yi Shui, but he dislikes James even more.

With their leader having made his stance clear, Rondo naturally followed suit. Granger and Randolph ignored James and proactively sided with Yi Shui.

With Curry and David Lee included, six out of the twelve All-Stars are on Yi Shui's side.

Howard and Horford's silence is tantamount to standing with the majority.

After James shouted for a while, only Bosh responded... so he decisively said he would listen to everyone.

The guy with the big jaw who's passively competing for AMVP: King, can't you talk to me about this kind of thing next time? It's so embarrassing! I was embarrassed once already last year!

And you're the one who brings it up first, but you're also the one who gives up immediately when no one pays attention!

Mike D'Antoni, who is in charge of the Eastern Conference team this year, devised several simple tactics around the Yi River offense after everyone reached a consensus.

Yi Shui is a well-rounded player, capable of playing both inside and outside, driving, shooting, and positioning. His tactics are simple, and with his All-Star teammates being outstanding, he should be ready to play after two rounds of practice.

With the remaining time, D'Antoni asked Granger, Horford, Bosh, Wade, and others to help Yi Shui practice pick-and-roll offense.

As Curry said, with Harrington gone, Yi Shui's offensive burden will inevitably increase.

Especially in half-court sets, Harrington's pick-and-roll offense from the top of the key is a crucial element.

Fortunately, Yi Shui has developed this aspect quite well. Although he is not as good as Curry and Harrington in initiating offense with pick-and-rolls, he can still put up a fight thanks to his solid dribbling skills and the infinite mismatches brought by his outstanding physique.

Regarding this, D'Antoni had actually discussed it with the coaching staff and management before the season started. They wanted to gradually transfer Harrington's ball-handling and offensive role to Yi Shui after the start of the new season. However, because the team's record at the beginning of the season was too good, letting Yi Shui take over this part of the offensive role would definitely affect the team's half-court offense, so they had to postpone it.

Now that the team no longer has Harrington, let's just push him up at Yishui and use him for real match experience.

While the Eastern Conference All-Stars were having small-group practice sessions, Walsh came to visit them at the training facility.

Seeing that D'Antoni had arranged for Yi Shui to practice pick-and-roll offense and that Yi Shui was practicing very hard, Walsh said to D'Antoni, "It seems that Brook is not unhappy about Al's departure, has accepted it, and wants to fill the tactical gap left by Al's departure."

Regarding this deal, Walsh was prepared to abandon it. His plan was that if Yi Shui had no objections, they would proceed with the deal; if Yi Shui had objections, they would reason with him; if Yi Shui didn't listen to reasoning, then they would abandon the deal and look for other possible deals.

D'Antoni responded, "Brook is very sentimental, but he also values ​​his own development. He is very basketball-savvy and knows that this trade is in his best interest."

...

At 7:30 p.m., the All-Stars made their appearance in the Cowboys Arena's massive 100,000-seat stadium, as introduced by the host.

Because of Kobe, Duncan, and Garnett's withdrawal from the season, Yi Shui has been seeing many older fans online lately lamenting the passing of their youth and saying they won't watch basketball anymore after those old guys retire.

Some people were just following the trend, but many others were expressing their true feelings.

Yi Shui believes that similar opinions also existed when earlier superstars such as Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, and Ewing faded from the league.

He also feels sad about those veteran superstars gradually growing old, but!

The departure of the superstars who entered the NBA in the 80s gave Duncan, the OK duo, and Kidd the opportunity to rise to prominence.

Now that the superstars of the 90s are getting old, it's an opportunity for their generation of players!

During afternoon practice, he stepped forward to compete for the main attacker position tonight, partly because he wanted to see if he could trigger the 'All-Star Weekend series of missions', but that was secondary. He is unlikely to miss the All-Star Game for the next ten years or more unless there are extreme circumstances, and the mission will come sooner or later.

The main purpose was to seize this opportunity to "enter the inner circle".

As the older generation of superstars retire one by one, a number of older fans will stop paying attention to basketball, but there will definitely still be a large number of 'residual fans' who continue to follow the NBA.

After Jordan said, "Kobe is most like me," Kobe gained a lot of Jordan's old fans. In the original timeline, after Kobe ruptured his Achilles tendon, he recommended Curry to his fans, and Curry also gained a lot of Kobe's old fans.

Yi Shui figured he didn't have the chance to be 'designated as successor' like Kobe and Curry; those two were too special cases. But that didn't matter. If others wouldn't give it to him, he'd take it!

After the 24 All-Stars entered, Howard gave the opening performance.

Watching Howard's clumsy imitation, Yi Shui felt that O'Neal's aging was a huge loss, at least for the All-Star Weekend.

In fact, Howard's deliberate antics over the past few years can be seen as a way of competing for Shaq's 'legacy market'.

It was almost 8 p.m., and the match was about to begin. The starting lineups of both teams came onto the field.

Eastern Conference: Curry, Wade, James, Yi Shui, Howard.

D'Antoni started Curry in place of Iverson, who withdrew from the game. If there's a condition, he'll definitely give it to his own players.

The same thing happened in the West. Gentry gave his own player the starting position vacated by Kobe's withdrawal. Duncan's position was vacated, but to give face to the organizers, he fielded a starting lineup of Rose, Nash, Anthony, Nowitzki, and Yao Ming.

Yao Ming came to the center circle, already mentally prepared to lose the jump ball.

In the regular season, he can sometimes win the jump ball by virtue of his height and wingspan advantage, but in the All-Star game, well, he lost to Ben Wallace in his early years, to Shaquille O'Neal later, and to Dwight Howard in the last two years... he has never won.

But then an unexpected thing happened: he saw Yi Shui and Howard arrive at the center circle together!

Little Giant: You guys are all fighting over me to win the jump ball?

Emperor and Beast: You guessed right!

Once the camera captured them and the big screen gave them a close-up, Yi Shui and Howard started playing rock-paper-scissors to compete for the jump ball opportunity.

Yi Shui was indeed not suited for gambling; he could even lose at rock-paper-scissors. He threw a punch with determination, only to be blocked by Howard.

"I haven't even said how many rounds I've won yet, let's go again!"

Howard rolled his eyes at the camera and continued scrolling...

It was already 8 PM, and the live broadcast of the game had started, but the referee didn't stop Yi Shui and Howard from "acting silly"—it's the All-Star game, after all.
"No, best of five!"

"No way! Best of seven!"

Howard: "Alright, alright, you can have it! I don't want to play rock-paper-scissors until tomorrow."

After speaking, Howard left the center circle and went to the center line side, where he stood with Nowitzki.

Yao Ming was furious. He could tell that the two of them had planned to perform in front of the camera.

But it's also clear that the two are genuinely playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to jump the ball!

The key point is that Yi Shui really wanted to win, even to the point of resorting to cheating!
Finally, it was all settled. The referee came to the center circle, blew the whistle to start the game, and tossed the ball into the air.

An enraged Yao Ming leaped into the air... and then retreated to defend with all his might.

Little Giant: I'm never jumping the ball at the All-Star Game again! It's Silver Horn King's turn to be humiliated!
Yi Shui easily defeated Yao Ming to win the jump ball, and the East team attacked first!

Curry advanced to the frontcourt and passed directly to Yi Shui.

He's not afraid of offending James and Wade at all. He's already offended those who needed to be offended. He even swept James in last year's playoffs. His goal is to surpass the middle-generation James and Wade!
Right now, he can't beat these two, but it doesn't matter, he has a boss!

Yi Shui received the ball while facing Nowitzki's defense, and the fans in the stadium cheered loudly.

Nowitzki, the local superstar, stole the show last night, winning over many local fans. The two faced off right from the start, much to the excitement of the fans.

But Novice himself isn't so happy, so how do you defend against that?
The key point is that Anthony just pulled away from James like that!
Silver Horn King: Does King have the ability to receive passes and shoot? Melo, come back soon, I can't handle this alone...

After his teammates pulled away, Yi Shui didn't even bother with feints. He simply swerved to the side, took a step back to block Nowitzki's lateral movement, and charged forward!
Novitzki was completely stripped clean without any struggle.

Yao Ming, who was under the basket, originally wanted to "get back" at Yi Shui on the defensive end and give him a bloody block. However, when he saw Yi Shui rushing in at full speed, he chose to go against his instincts and took a big step to dodge.

Yi Shui's tomahawk dunk kicked off the All-Star Game!

(End of this chapter)